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The Kingdom of Sarathia
Once the greatest seat of power in Athlin and the center of the Empire of Sarathia's influence, the Kingdom of Sarathia is one of the Kingdoms that now lay within Athlin. Capitol: Highhaven King: Ulric Ciryon (Usurper) / Vilarius Ciryon (Rightful) Population: 16,600,000 Language: Elarian Religion: The Evangelion Pantheon History The Kingdom of Sarathia Following the end of the Succession Wars, Cederian Ciryon created the Kingdom of Sarathia. The once mighty imperial capitol of Saris still lay in ruin from the war so Cederian began constructing the city of Highhaven on southeastern shores of the Crystal Sea. As Cederian built Highhaven, skirmishes broke out in the Mark starting the First War of the Mark which lasted for three years as Cederian fought against his brother Medes. Following the First War of the Mark, Cederian returned to his new capitol of Highhaven were he oversaw its expansion until his death. For the next six centuries, the Kingdom engaged itself in border wars with the neighbouring kingdoms while keeping the Ciryon bloodline alive. Over the last six centuries, the Kingdom of Sarathia has been involved in dozens of border wars with the Petty Kingdoms in Averli, the Merchant Lords of Medes, and with the Two Kingdoms and throughout these many wars, Sarathia has managed to hold onto its holdings, most notibly the Mark and the Low Marches which see the majority of fighting. In the last fifty years, the Kingdom of Sarathia has been involved in two border wars, one with the Merchant Kingdom of Kastive over the ownership of Medrithian Gap in the Mark, and one the Two Kingdoms over control of Therobred Gap. The wars were quick and bloody as Sarathain forces were able to gain a few miles of territory from each war, but nothing substantial due to growing dangers in the Crithian Sea with the Elarian Empire. War of the Usurper In the year T.E. 1304, King Cederian Ciryon lll died in his bed leaving his bastard son, Prince Vilarius Ciryon, as next in line for the throne. Before Vilarius could be placed on the throne, Cederian's brother Ulric seized the throne claiming himself as the rightful King over his bastard nephew. When Ulric stood in the throne room before the court and claimed the throne while seizing the crown from the Patriarch of the Pantheon, the room turned into a blood bath as the lords in the room split over who to support, a fight which quickly spread throughout the city. Outnumbered by Ulric's supporters, Prince Vilarius and his surviving supporters fled the city after many died in throne room. Trade The Kingdom engages heavily in trade with a merchant fleet based out of Pelagiard which conducts trade with cities across Athlin and Elaris while ships prow the Crystal Sea moving goods throughout the center of the Kingdom as massive barges move through the rivers. Trade with the Dwarven Kingdom is conducted through Allanor Keep in the east as many luxaries are traded to the dwarves in exchange for weapons, armor, and luxary materials. Much of the kingdoms exports are lumber and food which supply food across many regions of the known world. Military The military of the Kingdom of Sarathia draws its roots from the ancient traditions of Elaris and those who traved to Athlin with Alacid Ciryon. The military of the kingdom draws heavily on cavalry, the vast and rich fields of the kingdom allowing for excellent horse breeding and good ground for cavalry to manuever. Knights form the core of cavalry in Sarathia with heavily armoured horses and men capable of driving through enemy ranks with ease. In order to keep the cavalry balanced, lighter cavalry armed with a varity of weapons such as swords, lances, javelins, and bow and arrows allow the Sarathian armies to easily challenge enemy forces across the plains of the kingdom. While cavalry forms a vast majority of the armies, the kingdom does round their armies out with well trained infantry and archers that work alongside the cavalry, helping exploit weaknesses in enemy ranks and using well drilled tactics to survive arrow volleys and enemy cavalry. The Order of Astarielle The most secretive group in all of Sarathia, named after the second Empress, Astarielle Ciryon, it has long served the members of the Imperial Bloodline. The Order is dedicated to carrying out any number of assignments requiring stealth and precision from assassinations to intelligence gathering. The Order follows an exceptional complex set of rules and principles and always operates in the shadows to further the power of the Imperial Bloodline and the Kingdom of Sarathia. Geography The Kingdom of Sarathia is the largest kingdom in Athlin, its lands resting between the Klivarse Mountains in the west, the Sharron Mountains in the east, the Mark in the north, and the Crithian Sea in the south. At the heart of the kingdom lays the Crystal Sea with its calm and clear waters providing trade throughtout the land and a bounty of fish. Surrounding the Crystal Sea are vast plains and rolling hills that give way to the mountains, numerous rivers flow through the lands from the mountains and the sea as forests dot the shores of the rivers. To the north is the Mark and in the southwest the Low Marches, both are the edges of the kingdom, seperating it from the rest of Athlin. Cities and Keeps Highhaven Highhaven''' is the capitol of the Kingdom of Sarathia, built in T.E. 705 making the city 599 years old. With a population of around 1,400,000 people, it is the largest city in Athlin and is a testament to the power that the Kingdom of Sarathia still commands. The city is situated on a series of tall crags whose centers are filled with water strewn caverns and geysers that poir water into the chambers which spill out into the canals of the city. Situated high above the calm waves of the sea on the crag strewn cliffs sits Castle Haven with its towering ramparts of thick stone. The city itself flows down the hills and cliffs toward the harbor, all beneath the castle ramparts, the richer citizens living higher towards the castle and the poorer further down towards the city walls. The harbor is the most crowded part of the city as ships arrive and depart hourly with goods from across the Kingdom while fishers bring their hauls to be sold. Above the harbor from tall towers and ramparts, people are watched from Fort Cadrin which seperates the harbor from the city. Other than the harbor, the only other entrances to the city are through the four Citadel Gates, each standing thirty feet high with heavy oak doors clad in iron and thick wood and iron locking beams that brace into the ground and walls. These gates are opened from both the flanking towers through a series of gears turned by twelve men. Outside the city are small groups of buildings and miles of farms and vineyards which are worked year round to provide food for the city. The city is split up into dozens of districts with rich and royalty living in Whitehaven, an island seperated from the rest of the city by the Thamis River while the poorer citizens live in the lower districts across the Bridge of Ciryon. The streets of Highhaven are busy night and day as the people crowd them, carrages and horses move about, and ships that fill the harbor. The city often falls prey to fog which fills the harbor and districts along the river. '''Saris ' '''Once the capitol of the Empire of Athlin and the seat of the Emperors of old, much of Saris was destroyed during the Succession Wars. In the centuries following the Succession Wars, the city was rebuilt and even today its splender is unmathced, even by the Sarathian capitol of Highhaven. Resting on the northern shores of the Crystal Sea in the Meridian Delta, the rivers flow through the city as towering spires raise from the Palace of Alacid and the temples to the Gods. The city is also home to the Grand Temple of Taalven and during the spring equinox is a place of great celebration as the people celebrate the arrival of spring. '''Stradin' The most fortified city in the Kingdom of Sarathia, it was built during the Succession Wars by Emperor Darrin to be a fortress of last resort should Sarathia fall to his brothers. It was built in a small enclosed valley found within the Klivarse Mountains with its only access point called the Great Gate, a massive gate built beneath the mountain on the Black Road with thick oak doors coated in iron and steel as a dozen locking braces of oak and iron dot the inside of the gate. At sixty-seven feet high and fifty-five wide, it is one of the largest doors known in the world and is protected by a garrison of soldiers and weaving fortifications along the Black Road. Past the Great Gate is the outer city with buildings belonging to the city watch, mine entrances, and homes to many of the miners. The outer city ends along a large fissure that runs thorugh the valley as a bridge crosses the fissure to the Low Gate which allows access into the inner city where the cities weathy and elite live, protected by high walls. The inner city is the only part of Stradin that receives any sunlight, being placed in the valley where the cracked mountains have left a large skylight which allows four hours of sunlight in around midday. The city receives water from numerous springs that run through the valley and provide more then enough water for the population. Food is another matter as only a few small farms in the valley provide small yields while the rest of the cities food supplies are brought in from outside. Pelagiard Pelagiard was the first city built in Athlin, rising from steep cliffs and bluffs, its domed buildings resting between trees at the bottom of the Crithian foothills. Pelagiard is home to a large portion of the Sarathian navy, its ships anchored from the rough waves in sheltered docks within the city. The city shows it age after centuries on the edge of the rough Crithian Sea, old towers have crumbled into the waves as the cliff buildings are battered and worn. The old sea wall of the port stands with its once brillant white walls now tan and worn from the salt water, its ramparts and towers still standing as the Pela Lighthouse guides ships safetly to the harbor and away from the steep crags that dot the sea before the city. Allanor Keep Allanor Keep is the second largest keep in Athlin, the largest being Drechenfels Keep, and has been owned by House Calin since the dwarves were commissioned by the Empire to build it. The keep itself is neigh on impenetrable and the garrison holds a constant vigil over the pass it was built to protect, many have attempted to storm it only to be met by the blades of its stalwart defenders. However, the keep has not stood the test of time and between the sieges and terrible maintenance the keep has fallen into a state of disrepair. Several towers still stand in their ruined state and holes still plaster the outer wall from the keeps many sieges. House Calin has owned Allanor Keep since its creation and takes little to no part in the politics of the realm they are part of (which has changed several times.) The Lords and Ladies of House Calin are one of the more honorable famlies in Athlin and go out of their way to uphold their honor. They also have good relations with the dwarves of Kol-Sharak and trade with them regularly. However, they still refuse to send builders to repair the keep. After the passing of Lord Carothin Calin, his son Aragoth Calin has inherited the castle, Aragoth however is much more invested in the political affairs of the realm than the rest of his family and with a civil war brewing he will be the first Calin to join in on such things.